Germany World Cup squad: Leroy Sane left out by Joachim Löw with Marco Reus and Mesut Özil included
Manchester City winger is a notable omission from the reigning World Champions
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Your support makes all the difference.Leroy Sane has been left out of Germany’s World Cup 2018 squad for Russia 2018 by manager Joachim Low, despite playing a major part in Manchester City’s Premier League-winning campaign.
The 22-year-old, who this season was named PFA Young Player of the Year, scored 10 goals and provided 15 assists for City as they cruised to the Premier League title as well as the Carabao Cup, but Löw has not found space for him in his 23-man squad that will bid to successfully defend the World Cup in Russia.
The former Schalke winger missed last year’s Confederations Cup campaign in Russia in order to have an operation on his nose, with the decision believed to have not gone down well with Löw as he looked to develop the national team’s young players a year out from the World Cup.
Sane’s omission comes as a major shock given that both Marco Reus and Mario Gomez feature, with the former suffering heavily from injuries in recent years after missing both the 2014 World Cup and Euro 2016 and the latter putting in an underwhelming season with Stuttgart.
Arsenal’s Mesut Özil is also included despite a below-par campaign with Arsenal, who finished sixth in the Premier League and failed to win any silverware that led to the departure of manager Arsene Wenger.
The Premier League contingent named in the squad is completed by Chelsea defender Antonio Rudiger and Sane’s club teammate İlkay Gündoğan.
Along with Sane, goalkeeper Bernd Leno, defender Jonathan Tah and forward Nils Petersen were the unlucky quartet to be cut from Löw’s squad, although Julian Brandt proved to be another surprise inclusion given the number of wingers already in the side.
Bayern Munich goalkeeper Manuel Neuer makes the cut after making his return to the national team in the weekend’s 2-1 defeat by Austria, having been sidelined since September after breaking a bone in his foot, and the captain set to remain as the first-choice No 1 ahead of Barcelona’s Marc-Andre ter Stegen and Kevin Trapp of Paris Saint-Germain.
Germany's World Cup squad
Goalkeepers: Manuel Neuer, Kevin Trapp, Marc-Andre ter Stegen
Defenders: Marvin Plattenhardt, Jonas Hector, Matthias Ginter, Mats Hummels, Niklas Sule, Antonio Rudiger, Jerome Boateng, Joshua Kimmich.
Midfielders: Sami Khedira, Julian Draxler, Toni Kroos, Timo Werner, Mesut Ozil, Leon Goretzka, Sebastian Rudy, Julian Brandt, Ilkay Gundogan.
Forwards: Marco Reus, Thomas Muller, Mario Gomez
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